CD Review by Gail Fountain
Atlanta’s own Gringo Star, consisting of Furgiuele brothers Peter and Nicholas, along with Chris Kaufman, are set to release their third full-length, Floating Out to See, on Oct. 22 as a self-produced album on their label, My Anxious Mouth Inc., digitally on iTunes and Google Play. Then in November, Floating Out to See will be released on vinyl and CD.
In general, Gringo Star is broadening its style into more eras than just the 60s, by playing with more complex intros. Here’s a track by track review of the record.
“In the Heat” – A nice, reverb and echo filled blues-based instrumental with lovely guitar solos and synth pitch-benders throughout which are complemented with a sample of a speech.
“Find a Love” – A high pitched intro leads into a wonderful rocker that sings about finding love. Features include lots of chorus singing, long “ahs” in the backup vocals and a true guitar solo.
“Going Way Out” – Previously released as a single, it sounds like something straight out of the early 60s with lyrics that include a story of walking down the street, sleeping and other dreamy topics with lots of slide guitar.
“Want Some Fun” – Opens with lots of snare drum, maracas and Doors style circus like organ, with loud surf style guitar and fuzzed out lead vocals and loud backing vocals.
“Taller” – A bluesy rocker with excellent vocal melodies, toned down rhythm guitar and short guitar line intervals.
“Satisfy My Mind” – Very danceable, as the heavy rhythm section matches up with the vocal melody. The backbeat of the song is filled with short, poppy rhythm guitar and organ as well as the band’s usual short guitar lines. There’s a short breakdown section of acoustic and electronically processed percussion.
“Peep Hole” – Reminiscent of the musical and verse melody of the 1967 hit “Green Tambourine” by The Lemon Pipers with actual tambourine music. The chorus is quite catchy, as either creepy or paranoid: “See the peep hole in your bathroom, all the neighbors are watching you.”
“Zozo” – A short instrumental piece with howling dog type vocals
“Lovesick” – Is a 1950s-style tune, with low vocals and short surf style guitar lines. The difference is that era song wouldn’t have low-fi vocals, heavy organ and a sample of a lady talking in the middle of the song.
“Looking for More” – A spaghetti western influenced intro and verses lead into a strongly recognizable Gringo Star song with its loud strumming guitar lines, bass and cymbals; except for the surprise horns at the song’s climax, right before the breakdown two thirds of the way in.
“In the Sun” – Western style guitar lines in the intro build up to verses that tell a tale with no chorus, kind of a slow, meandering song.
“100 Miles” – With short bursts of rhythm guitar, long stretched out vocals in the foreground and background. A percussion break and guitar solo ride under volume levels that that rise and fall, creating a slightly spooky psychedelic feel.
“The Start” – Ironically at the end, but another singable, danceable song with quite discernible vocals over lo-fi music that sounds more modern than most other songs on the record.
